Friends by Blood
by Wanli8970
Summary: One phone call manages to change the life of Peter Parker as he knows it. Follow these series of event as Peter tries to put a past relationship back together while dealing with a parasite that's not from our world.
1. Part I: Reconnection The Phone Call

**A/N: For those of you who've read _A Child's Smile_ on the Ultimate Spider-Man archive, you would have already known who Lynn is. But, to those who haven't, you can decide whatever or not if you want to read it. It can affect your whole view of this story if you decide to read that one-shot or not.**

* * *

 ** _Part I: Reconnection | The Phone Call_**

It all started with one phone call. A phone call that will change his life the way he knows it.

Peter Parker was originally having a nice text chat with Happy Hogan, explaining his school day and his daily patrol. Everything was fine, nice and simple.

That was before he got the call from an old friend.

Originally, Peter would have ignored the call because he was in the middle of a conversation but his curiosity got the better of him and he took a look at the name.

What he saw made him freeze.

The phone read: _Helen S._

He let the phone ringed, so absorbed into his shock that he couldn't press the _answer_ button like he so badly wanted to in time.

There was a message left behind and Peter let it run.

" _Hey, Pete,"_ a soft, feminine voice that has aged begins. _"How are you? It's Helen if you hadn't realized yet. Yeah, I decided to call you after, what? Almost eight months now? Yeesh, that's long. I've been doing good if you're wondering. George is doing well too. That Spider-Man fellow has been making his job a lot easier even though he won't admit it out loud."_

Peter smiled slightly at that; Officer George was always a stubborn person.

" _And there's Lynn,"_

That made the smile drop from his face.

" _She just got out of chemotherapy a couple of days ago. The side effects are awful as hell - as always. She has another one in a few of months from now. If you're worried about the blood donation, don't worry. That other donor is still giving her enough blood, despite their condition. The doctors said it's not something we should worry about so you shouldn't either."_

Peter wasn't exactly worried about the blood donation. Like Helen said, they always had that other donor to help with Lynn but he did worried about the chemotherapy. Those side effects were horrible; he remembers holding a crying Lynn after she wouldn't stop throwing up for the whole day.

" _Look, Pete,"_ Helen's voice came back, now solemn from its previously light-hearted tone before. _"I wouldn't be calling you right now if this didn't concern Lynn. The only reason why she hasn't tried to reach out since your uncle's death because she wanted to give you time to adjust. But it's been eight months, Peter, and she misses you."_

He misses her too; there was not a day that he hasn't thought about just for a split second.

" _She doesn't even know I'm leaving this message right now. She might have been against this whole idea but she's my daughter; I know her. And what I know is that she's upset, and the chemotherapy isn't helping her mood. I'm not asking you outright to go visit her because I don't know if you're still recovering from your uncle's death or not. What I'm trying to say is; consider it. She really does misses you. You made her really happy."_

Just like that, the message ended, leaving Peter alone in silence.

Then his phone chimed again and he looked at it.

It was a message from Happy.

 _Happy: you ok? You didn't reply earlier_

Peter shot him a quick text.

 _Peter: I gtg_

With that, he shut his phone down and stares off into space.

* * *

 ** _December 10th, 2009_**

 _Peter Parker hated needles. They were long, scary, cold, and they hurt. They hurt so bad. Why was he getting a needle in his arm? He didn't like seeing his blood slowly leaving his body and being placed in the bag._

 _The only reason why he agreed to come into the scary hospital was that he was offered a cookie._

 _He didn't know he would get a needle stuck in his arm for what felt like hours._

" _And there," the nurse said after she applied the bandage to his arm. "That wasn't so bad, was it? You can have your cookie now."_

 _Peter didn't even reach for his cookie. He was too traumatized to actually enjoy the sweetness of a chocolate chip cookie._

" _Peter?" Slowly, Peter shifted his eyes to look in his uncle's direction. "How do you feel?"_

 _Peter refused to say anything because he was angry; angry that his aunt and uncle tricked him into getting a needle stuck in his arm, angry that they had tricked him with a_ cookie _out of all things._

" _Peter, I know you're angry about the needle," Uncle Ben begins, his voice soft. "But you're doing a good thing. You're saving someone's life by doing this?"_

 _This caught his attention; he didn't know he was saving someone's life. "Really?"_

 _Ben nods, a small smile appearing on his face. "Yes."_

 _Peter supposed that wasn't so bad. Uncle Ben always did tell him he should help people if he had the power to do it. Maybe it was worth all the needles._

" _Can I see them?" He asked meekly. While he was okay with helping that person, he was actually a little afraid of meeting them. His uncle always told him not to talk to strangers. Why did he even asked the question? Pure child curiosity?_

 _But it was too late and now Peter found himself being escorted to a room at the hospital._

" _She's just been through chemotherapy a day ago," says Miss Helen, the relative of the recipient, as she leads them into the room. "So she's still suffering from some of the side effects. She's asleep now, so that's something."_

 _At the time, Peter didn't understand what any of those words meant but what he did manage to process was that he was going to meet some adult that he didn't know and it was all his darn fault._

 _But what he saw in the oxygen tent wasn't a grown woman like he expected._

 _It was a little girl._

 _She couldn't be any older than three or four years old. And she was in this big, scary hospital._

 _Then he took notice how pale she looks like the type of pale you would only see on those creepy kids from the horror movies that he saw from those TV commercials. It's so unnatural that she's almost nauseating to look at. Then came her hair, or what was left of it. He remembers Aunt May telling him how some girls fight by trying to pull each other's' hair; this girl looks like she's been in a lot of those. There was barely any hair left. What could have been long golden locks were now thinning layers of hair._

 _It was so sad to look at, but Peter couldn't bring himself to look away._

 _Suddenly, the girl's eyes fluttered open. Now Peter was staring into two deep blue eyes that reminded him of the ocean._

" _Hey, sweetie," Helen begins softly, now kneeling right next to Peter on the bed. "How did you sleep?"_

 _However, the child's attention was on Peter. "Are you my donor?" Despite her sickly appearance, the girl's voice was clear like music._

 _Peter didn't know what to do so he slowly nodded._

 _This brought a smile to the girl's face. "Mommy and Daddy said you're keeping me alive with your blood. Thank you for saving me."_

 _Those words made Peter feel light inside. Was this how it feels to save someone's life? If it was, he liked it. It was all worth the needle in his arm for hours._

" _I'm Peter," he says for the first time since he's been in the room, giving the girl a smile._

" _I'm Lynn," the girl says back. Suddenly, she brought her hand up from underneath the blankets and laid it on the tent's walls._

 _Peter then slowly brought his hand up, towards the direction of her own._

 _Despite the oxygen tent between them, their hands were able to meet each others' through the canopy. Lynn slightly curled her fingers around his and shook her arm slightly in a form of a handshake. Peter returned it._

* * *

 **Present Day**

Peter didn't know how long he was sitting there in his room in complete silence. It must have been a long time because Aunt May was already knocking at his door for dinner.

"Peter?" the door opens to reveal the relieved face of his aunt. "Oh, thank goodness, you're still here. For a second, I thought you were out patrolling in that fancy suit of yours.

She stops once she notices her nephew deep in thought and her concern came back. "Pete, what is it?"

He sighs, knowing he's going to have to talk about it sooner than later.

"May, do you remember Lynn?" He asks.

A small smile appeared on May's face. "Well, of course, I remember Lynn. Who can forget about somebody like Lynn?" Peter smiles at that, she did have a point. "What brought this up?"

"Helen called me," Peter begins. "She told me that Lynn just got out of chemotherapy and…"

May waited. "And what?"

"Lynn misses me, May. A-And, I haven't seen her in almost eight months and a lot has changed. I don't know what to do, honestly. Should I go see her, or something? Like, send her a text? Anything?"

"Well, like you said, things have changed since you two had seen each other," May agrees. "But you two got along so well before, and if Lynn misses you then it shows she still cares about you. You can go to the hospital to see her if you want, but it's your choice in the end."

"How do you think she's going to react if she sees me?" Peter asked, his fingers trembling slightly.

May gave him a reassuring smile. "Considering she just got out of chemotherapy, I bet it'll make her the happiest girl in the world to see her best friend _and_ blood donor again." She gave him a small grip on the shoulder before she stood up and left the room, leaving him to his thoughts.

Peter took a quick look at his phone and started a debate; it's been _so_ long since he's seen or heard from Lynn and he really wants to see the young girl again, but then, he's changed. He wasn't that same boy that Lynn grew up with and he knows she's bound to notice - she's extremely good at reading people like an adult reading a preschooler's book. He couldn't have her worrying about him and his problems when she's practically fighting for her own life right now.

God, if she somehow found out he was Spider-Man…

No, there was no way. He was _not_ going to risk Lynn's life with his own problems. She and her parents already have enough on their plates, anyway. There's no reason for Spider-Man getting involved with their lives.

Then again, Lynn misses him. And considering she just got out of chemotherapy, that's really going to make her miserable.

With a loud groan, Peter fell back on his bed.

Why did life have to be so difficult for him?

* * *

 **Sorry if this seemed so short for you guys. I promise you guys there will be longer chapters in the future, but don't expect them too soon. I have like four more stories to work on and complete.**


	2. Part I: Reconnection Debating

**A/N: Wow, I am entirely impressed at how fast I finished this chapter. Then again, this _is_ a very short chapter. But hey, at least it's something!**

* * *

 ** _Part I: Reconnection | Debating and Videos_**

He spent the rest of the week normal; going to school, going to the Decathlon Team practice after school, catching up on homework, then going on patrol. It was a simple schedule that his Aunt forced him to follow and he's been getting pretty good at it. It was way better than his last schedule.

But now, at lunch or in between classes, Peter found himself watching old videos of him and Lynn on his phone.

He used to make videos with Lynn all the time because they were both huge fans of Markiplier and they wanted to make a viral video of compilations that would launch their YouTube careers. The entire file where he stored the videos for it were called: _Blood Pals_. It was Lynn's idea, not his. They would really make videos about anything; pulling pranks on her father or the hospital staff, playing video games, and have her singing covers to some old songs that people probably don't listen to anymore. But they didn't care at the time, they were both doing everything that they loved.

Then Uncle Ben died…

Peter sighs as he watches a video of him and Lynn playing Gang Beast in Lynn's hospital room.

He did smile a bit when his video self-began to flip out when the game's physics decided to play favorites. That look of triumph on Lynn's face when she realizes she's about to win. At that point, all of Lynn's hair had fallen completely and now she had to wear a white chemo hat with a flower embroidery on the side.

Despite the girl's sickly appearance she looked so alive. So happy, like she wasn't about to drop dead at any moment. Especially with the way she was laughing maniacally at his suffering.

"Wow." Turning his head to the right, Peter saw Michelle down a few seats from the table he was sitting at, smirking at him. "You really are a loser if a game's physics hates you."

He didn't know what his expression was after she said that but it was enough to shift her eyes uncomfortably and turn back to her book.

With that done, Peter turned back to the sucked that Ned caught a bad case of the flu and had to stay home for the week but Peter couldn't help being relieved to not have to discuss Lynn with his sometimes overly talkative friend.

By Friday, Peter decided to watch those videos if there wasn't anything to do on patrol. After stopping a robbery, Peter stopped on top of a roof and pull out his phone. This time, he was watching a video of Lynn covering a song by Avril Lavigne called: _Alice_.

 _"Your friend has a wonderful voice, Peter,"_ Karen, his AI in the suit, compliments.

Peter smiles slightly underneath his mask. "Yeah, she does,"

A few days ago, Peter had finally confessed to Karen who Lynn was since he trusted her enough to not say anything to Happy or Tony Stark. The A.I. had sensed his emotional distress and desperation so she allowed him to tamper with her programming; Tony Stark wasn't able to see Peter looking at videos of him and Lynn and Karen will not mention anything regarding Lynn. It was nice to tell somebody about Lynn without the fear of her being exposed to criminals everywhere. Even Karen likes her from what she's seen.

Then, Karen asked the one thing that has been on his mind for a while.

 _"Peter, if Lynn means so much to you, why not visit her?"_

He's asked that question himself numerous of times and the answer had always been the same; he was too afraid.

 _"I've been listening to your Aunt's phone calls with Lynn's mother,"_ Karen began. _"At one point, Lynn had made an appearance."_

Peter shrugs, not seeing the point of all of this. "And?"

 _"She sounds the same in your videos but at the same time, she sounded sad during the conversation with your Aunt."_ Now seeing what Karen was doing, Peter found himself staring off into space again. _"Peter,"_ she begins, her voice now soft. _"While I truly understand your fear of seeing Lynn again with everything that's been going but don't you think she misses you? You were her only blood donor that she really got to know and became friends with."_

Peter stayed silent, unsure of what he should say. He just continued to watch the video; now his video self from behind the camera was clapping and cheering like he was at a concert. Lynn was laughing at him but she humored him by bowing.

 _"Also, I've read an article about how cancer patients need to have the will to fight the disease to get better, maybe having you around can give Lynn more of a reason to fight cancer in her body."_

Did Karen seriously just go there?

Although he had sighed in exhaustion, a smile was clear on his face as he lifts his mask up to his nose before putting in a familiar number on his phone.

 _"Shall I block Mr. Stark's access of seeing your history of phone calls as of now?"_ Karen's smug voice asked.

"You know it, Karen," Peter said after pressing _call_ on his phone and lifting up to his ear. He waited patiently as the phone kept on ringing.

And ringing.

And ringing

When it became longer than he would have liked, Peter felt his fingers tremble. Should he just hang up and forget all of this has ever-?

 _"Hello?"_ a soft, feminine voice asked from the phone, her tone uneasy yet somewhat hopeful.

"Hey, Mrs. Stacy!" Forgetting about his previous nerves Peter put on a cheery front. "Is there any chance you can book me a visit at the hospital tomorrow?"

* * *

 **Bet you guys are already guessing who Lynn is, right? And, considering what we have already seen from the comics and the movie, I should go prepare myself for death threats. Don't be afraid to leave a review!**


	3. Part I: Reconnection Reunion and News

**A/N: Once again, I was able to get this done at a fast pace. This is what happens when you spend all your attentions on this one.**

 **deanine: I always try to set up the beginnings of my story to give the readers a chance to know certain plot points or the characters before moving onto the plot in general. Well, it depends on your definition of "help". You'll see what I mean very late in the story. Thank you for the criticism, I'll try to make a note of that in the future.**

* * *

 _ **Part I: Reconnection | Reunion and News**_

The moment he got out of the cab he took to the Cancer Center in New York City, red roses in hand, Peter felt like getting back into the cab but the vehicle had already left him on the sidewalk. Thus, leaving him alone to face the intimidating building that is the Cancer Center.

Why was he doing this again?

 _Because you're unintentionally hurting the girl who you saved her life every day since you were eight,_ a completely _unhelpful_ voice helpfully supplied. It made Peter rolled his eyes as he heads towards the doors, heart pounding loudly in his chest.

 _It's just Lynn, it's just Lynn, it's just Lynn,_ Peter chanted in his head over just to get rid of his nerves. He walked through the doors as they slid open to reveal the familiar area of the clerk's desk. However, seeing the clerk themselves made Peter scrunch his face in confusion.

"Mrs. Daniels?"

The clerk, who was a middle-aged, plus-size, African-American woman, looked up from her paperwork and once her dark eyes caught sight of the young Parker boy, she gave him a toothy grin.

"Well, as I live and breathe," Daniels begins, her Southern accent hinting her excitement as the fifteen-year-old made his way over to the desk. "Peter Parker! I was wondering when y'all was about to come back. It's good to have ya back."

"It's good to be back," Peter returns the smile. Jordan Daniels is Lynn's nurse/caretaker at the Cancer Center when she's in chemotherapy and recovers from the side effects. Despite being strict when it comes to the food, the lady was awesome to have around, even often participated in their pranks on Lynn's father. Her skills with children possibly came from the fact she used to be a housewife to eight children back in Louisiana. She was the kind of woman that's laid-back when it comes to the harmless pranks but isn't afraid to give someone a quick slap to put them in their place.

He took a quick glance at her station before returning his attention back to her. "Hey, I thought you were Lynn's nurse, when did you get appointed to desk clerk?"

Jordan sighs as she gestures to the paperwork on her desk. "Old clerk quit, the bosses needed someone to fill in till they get a new one. Look who's the guinea pig that they found to fill in."

"I thought George Stacy was the guinea pig of this hospital," Peter said in confusion. That made Jordan throw her head back and laugh.

"Oh! Ya got me!" The woman cries in near hysterical."I forgot how funny you are, Parker! It's been so long!"

"Yeah," Peter swallows nervously as the question he's been plaguing forms in his mind. "Hey, is it alright if I can go see Lynn now?"

"Gwennie's in the same room as she's always been in," Jordan waves him off, still laughing at heart off. "She's probably sleeping right now."

"Thank, Mrs. Daniels," Peter says as he walks away, leaving the adult to laugh by herself.

"Guinea pig," Jordan continued laughing. "Ah, that boy knows how to make you laugh yourself breathless."

* * *

Walking down the familiar path to Lynn's room was terrifying. Peter felt like he was eight-years-old again; he was going to meet someone new and the whole idea terrified him because he didn't know what to expect. It was almost the same feeling, except he already knew who Lynn was but he hasn't seen her for almost eight months now. People can change in that long period of time - God knows he did.

Finally, he came to the room that will officially seal his fate.

 _Room 121_

 _It's just Lynn, It's just Lynn,_ he tried the monetary over his head again before he slowly turned the doorknob.

When the door open, Peter did feel like he was eight-years-old again.

The first time he's seen Lynn she was asleep in bed, the oxygen tent blocked her from the world but she let him in despite her suffering. Now, Lynn was still sleeping in her bed, the oxygen tent wasn't covering her like before, thus giving him a better view of Lynn than all those years ago.

She didn't change from eight months ago; she still wore her usual chemo hat on her head, her marshmallow pajamas were still around because she was wearing them, and that locket she wore underneath her clothes was still there. The only thing different from back then was the cannula in her nose. It's what told Peter that things were different and maybe Lynn wasn't the same person he knew eight months ago.

What didn't help was despite how Lynn looks so peaceful in her sleep, her whole face was basically screaming at him that she's aged since he last saw her - he may have picked up a few skills from the master herself. What could be scarier than meeting somebody that you don't know?

Still, Peter made it this far and he was not going to stop now. For Lynn's sake.

He took a few strides into the room; everything was still the same with the television in front of the bed where they used to play video games to the small lounge area that some of them would use to see the view of the city.

It was only a couple of steps later that Peter found himself next to the bed.

And it was only two seconds later that Lynn's eyes open and turn to his direction.

Time froze at that point.

Peter could feel his heart pounding from behind his chest as his hands start to get clammy; she's looking at him. For the first time in eight months, Lynn is finally looking at him and Peter's completely terrified. She's not say anything. Why isn't she saying anything?

A smirk appeared on her lips. "Did you get dorkier the last time I saw you?"

Like that, all the weight that's been weighing him down since Helen Stacy called him was lifted off his shoulders. Peter nearly burst into tears just hearing those words but he settles with a shaky smile and unshed tears.

"Did you get shrewder the last time I saw you?" Peter snipped back, laughing a little bit at the whole situation. Everything feels so normal.

She directed her attention towards the roses. "What's with the flowers? I thought Homecoming already pass."

Now Peter let out a genuine laugh that was free from the tears. "What? Am I not allow to bring you flowers because I care?"

"Flowers are only used in special events that usually involve catching a girl's attention or someone has passed away," Lynn points out without missing a beat. "Considering I'm only twelve and the doctors haven't pinpointed my death yet, your excuses to bring flowers are irrelevant."

Peter laughs again. "You're still a smartass, Lynn,"

"Hey, I just point out the obvious," she retorts before opening up her arms. "Now come here and give me that hug we're both been dying for eight months."

Unable to resist it any longer - cause he _has_ been dying to hug her since she's said her first sentence to him in eight months - Peter quickly wraps his arms around her, making sure he doesn't squish the flowers, and finally lets his tears fall.

This is right. Everything about this is right.

"I miss you," she whispers from behind his head. Now she was no longer joking, her tone was sincere. It made her sound like her age and not a girl having to fight for her life every day.

"I miss you, too," he whispers back, hugging her tighter. "I miss you so much."

He was so glad that Helen called.

* * *

Tony Stark really didn't expect the kid to stay at home all day, especially on a weekend. He figured the kid would be off swinging through buildings, helping an old lady cross the street, or stopping a bike thief. That whole "Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man" vibe. It didn't make any sense for the kid to be staying at home as the Spider-Man logo is clearly showing on his StarkPad - a little invention of his, way better than that dumb IPad.

Maybe he got a project to do over the weekend and Aunt Hottie's forcing him to do it. That's it. Besides, Karen hasn't reported anything suspicious enough for him to be majorly concern over so that's all good.

Still, it wouldn't hurt to check in.

He dialed in the kid's phone number lets it ring for a moment.

Then, to his complete surprise, all he got was a voicemail.

 _Hey, sorry if I'm not on the phone right now. I'm probably hanging out with my best friends or doing something with Aunt May but leave a message and I promise I'll call you back,_ the cheerful and somewhat annoying voice of Peter Parker says right before he hangs up.

"First time someone has ever left a voicemail on me," he mumbles with a little huff. He made no further move to contact the kid again since it was pretty clear that the kid was giving him the silent treatment at the moment. He'll wait until the kid calls him like he usually does.

 _"Sir,"_ FRIDAY's voice calls from his small earpiece. _"I believe there is something in the News you need to see."_

Tony sighs, leave it to FRIDAY to know how to change a subject. "Sure, bring it on."

Whatever he was expecting did not prepare him for the title of the latest news story: _Body Snatcher strikes again!_

His attention is now focused on the article as he reads the gruesome tale.

 _Samantha Williams, an aspiring tennis player, 27, was reported missing on September 21st, 2016 back in Brooklyn, New York City. According to friends, she was coming home from practice before her phone call had abruptly stopped. It was then one of her friends found her body in an alley off of 27th street in Manhattan. Like all the other victims of the Body Snatcher, Ms. Williams had died of multiple broken bones in her body that was left untreated._

 _This marks the eighth victim of the Body Snatcher since the serial killer's first victim on July 10th, 2016. Captain George Stacy of NYPD, the sole investigator for the killings, says that the Body Snatcher got its name for their "obsession with body image"._

 _"You see people every day," Captain Stacy begins, willing to explain the murderer's name. "All of them got one thing on their mind; being the best they can be. That's a term that a lot of people use differently in their everyday life. For this manslaughter, the guy uses this term as a form of self-hatred on himself. He goes after all these people who have the "ideal" body, like inspiring athletes or bodybuilders, just to make himself feel good about his own. It's horrifically disgusting."_

Tony could only agree with the man. God, that's so horrible. How could one single person be able to break someone's bones in their body to the point of them dying? Then again, he knows a girl who has the ability to move things with her mind so he shouldn't really be complaining.

Still, this article was pretty disturbing. And what made him feel even nauseated was that victims four and seven were found in Queens.

"FRIDAY, monitor all of the Body Snatcher's locations where he kidnaps his victims and the locations where drops his victims' bodies off. And keep an eye out if there's one person hanging out in all of those areas." Tony demands.

* * *

 **If you all haven't guessed it by now, Lynn Stacy is my version of an MCU Gwen Stacy. I decided to pull a "Homecoming" like they did on MJ and decided to call Gwen Lynn instead since her full name is Gwendolyn. I've based her off of Maria Taina Elizando from the _Spider-Man: Animated Series,_ the kids that Tom Holland visited at the children's hospital, and the early adaptions of Gwen Stacy in the comics. Since the original Gwen used to be an Alpha Blonde with an attitude, I decided to make Lynn a bit of a smarty pants with an attitude. I'm going to have so much fun with this version of Gwen. X)**

 **I am not going to give away any hints on who the Body Snatcher is.**


	4. Part I: Reconnection Games and Talk

**A/N: Thank you Jewish holidays to help me get on a roll for this story. I love school vacations. :)**

* * *

 _ **Part I: Reconnection | Games and Talk**_

Peter thought, that after eight months of not playing, it would be nice to play the latest build of Gang Beasts with Lynn because it's their favorite game to play. Mostly because any builds that came right after the build where the costumes were first put in always have a few glitch problems. However, what Peter didn't like about those glitches is that they always go after his characters, thus giving Lynn the win to every battle.

He had hoped the game would finally give him a break after months of not playing it.

However, the game wasn't so kind to him and his new character that he dubbed as Ernest Dudley.

"Whoa, what's happening to you?!" Lynn demands after seeing the problem. They decided to play the elevator level first and Lynn was not expecting things to go wrong so quickly.

"I don't know!" Peter cries, looking down at his controller in confusion. "I'm not the one doing this! I have no idea why Dudley's all twitchy!"

True to his words, his red character with a cape is spazzing out of control like he's having a seizure standing up.

"Uh…" Lynn clears her voice to make it sound like a familiar character. "I think you're suffering from a case of what I believe is called; the exorcisitis. It's a pretty common illness; Morty's had it once or twice. I'll just let it play out."

"H-Help me!" Peter, now laughing hysterically at her impression of Rick, quickly got into character as he drives his vibrating character over to the blue-skinned Rick. "H-Help me!"

"Get away from me!" she cries, her character now throwing punches at Ernest Dudley. "I haven't been diagnosed with exorcisitis in all my seventy years of life and I refused to catch it because of your own damn fault for being possessed by some satanic entity!"

"H-Help me!" still somehow able to stay in-character while he continues to laugh in hysterical, Peter throws back some of his own punches. "P-Please! G-Get it out!"

"Okay, okay, calm down, Dudley," Lynn was able to get her Rick to grab Dudley by the face and somehow pin them down on the ground, which helped with the twitching. "Kay? I got ya. I may not be an exorcist but I ain't gonna let some devil drag you to hell, got it?"

Finally, unable to take it anymore, Peter broke down. His laughter has gotten to a point that makes him gasping for breath. Even Lynn broke out of character to laugh herself.

"We're getting _way_ into character again, are we?" she asks through her laughs. Peter could only nod in his out-of-breath state. God, this is so much fun. He really did miss this.

"Well, in that case," taking advantage of the moment, Blue Rick lifts Dudley by the face and drops him off the side of the elevator before Peter could do anything about it.

"Wait, no!" Too late. The screen was already saying; _Blue Wins_

"Why did I let you select how many wins we could get when I _know_ I haven't played this game in months?" Peter asks himself as he drops the controller in defeat.

"Because you're you." Lynn supplies, laughing at his glare towards her.

"She's right, you know," a masculine voice from the door catches their attention. "You should have known that Lynn knows you so well that she uses it to her advantage. It concerns me how manipulative she can be."

Looking up from their game they see a 5'10 man standing in the doorway with his arms crossed at his chest. His honey-blonde hair that's put in a side-part gave off an aura of superiority while his ocean-blue eyes and the wrinkles on his skin showed off his tiredness of life. What really makes him intimidating to Peter was his NYPD uniform. It basically screams: _I am the law._

However, Lynn wasn't intimidated by the man's presence and gave him a quick wave. "Hi, dad!"

"Hey, Mr. Stacy," Peter's greeting, however, was less confident than Lynn's and he nearly avoids eye contact with the man.

"Peter," George Stacy acknowledges, taking a few strides into the room. "Never thought I would see the day of you going on a hiatus for months only to return and still be lame at Gang Beasts."

Okay, Peter had to laugh at that despite how uncomfortable he feels. "Well, what can you do? Like uncle, like nephew, right?"

He shouldn't have said that. God, why did he say that?

"Speaking of which, Peter," George begins, his face losing that nonchalant expression and going into a serious one. "Do you mind if we step out in the hall for a sec?"

"Uh," Peter turns to Lynn, who just gives him a helpless shrug, before turning back to the senior Stacy and nods his head. "S-Sure, I'll go."

"Hey, dad," Lynn begins before the two could leave the room, her eyes glued to the character customization screen. "If you arrest Peter, you know I'm going to bail him out."

George laughs at the declaration. "And how exactly are you going to be able to do that, missy?"

"Oh, I have my ways…"

Another ominous point for Lynn.

Thankfully, George knew better than to say anything back and just brought Peter into the hall after that.

"The scary part about that conversation is I know she means it," George comments to Peter after shutting the door so that the girl inside couldn't hear them.

Peter nods in understanding. "Like that time your coworkers didn't believe her when she said she could hack into the NYPD system and she did?"

"Exactly," George shook his head at the memory. "It was not fun explaining to the court why my daughter was hacking into the system and why she shouldn't be thrown into juvie."

Even Peter shook his head. That wasn't a really pleasant memory.

"But enough about that," now Peter's afraid again when he meets the older man's eyes. "Let's talk about you."

"M-Me?" Peter points a finger at himself.

"Yes, you," George says. "How are you, Peter?"

"H-How am I?"

"Has everything been going alright with you and Aunt May?"

"Great! Well, I kind of got into trouble with school so I'm pretty much half-grounded at this point." Peter furrows his eyebrows. "Is half-grounding even a thing? I get that grounding can get less bad if you behave well enough but does that even count?"

"Peter," George cuts him off before he could go into a full ramble. "I'm talking about what happened with your uncle."

That made Peter stop altogether. Uncle Ben, how long has it been since anyone had the courage to actually bring him up on a conversation? It would make sense for George to bring it up since he's been friends with Ben for a long time now.

"I'm sorry that I left Lynn without saying anything, Mr. Stacy," Peter begins, his voice cracking slightly. "I really didn't want to do it but after what happened to Ben and when I found out she's going back into chemotherapy, I couldn't have her worrying about me when she should be worried about herself at that time," he meets the officer's eyes after taking a deep breath. "I was going through some weird stuff during those eight months, sir, and I didn't want Lynn to get involved. I'm sorry that I hurt her by staying away."

George took his words in but he didn't say anything, which only unnerves Peter further. He hates it when the Captain does something like this.

But he didn't expect to hear a small chuckle from him. "Pete, how many times have I told you to call me George? Calling me 'Mr. Stacy' or 'sir' makes me feel like my father."

Okay, that was kind of funny.

"Look, Pete," George begins, now serious again. "I knew your uncle and he was a great man; one of the bravest man that I knew in the police force. I knew that his death would have affected you in some way which is why I'm not angry at you for leaving Lynn. You needed time to figure things out and I can understand that. Helen understands that. Even Lynn did even though it hurt her to stay away from you."

Peter looks down at his feet, remembering how young Lynn sounded when she told him that she missed him. Even someone as strong as Lynn could break and Peter hated to be the one that did it.

"Hey," Peter looks up to see George giving him a warm smile. "Do you think your aunt can get you out of that half-grounding thing for tomorrow night?"

Peter tilts his head. "Why?"

"Cause Lynn's going to get discharged from the hospital tomorrow night and Helen and I thought it would be nice to have dinner out. Since you're here now, how would you feel if I invited you and your aunt? I know it would make Lynn very happy."

He could feel himself smiling as he says, "Yeah, I think so too."

* * *

 **As I've said before, review make me very happy and I want to see what everyone thinks about this story.**


	5. Part I: Reconnection Diner Fight

**A/N: School's back and I just found out I need to create an outfit for Mandarin class. If anyone is wondering why I'm mentioning it's because I don't know how to sow.**

 **deannie: I put up tons of hints for Venom in these chapters. There's a big one coming up. ;)**

* * *

 ** _Part I: Reconnection | Diner Fight_**

Thankfully, May has allowed Peter to take some time out of doing some study for schoolwork to spend time with the Stacy family at the _Galaxy Diner_ in Manhattan. It's a small place near Hell's Kitchen that Gwen likes to go to because of the food. Her parents allow her to go there because the place has the food she needs to eat for her diet. Peter didn't really mind the place; they make really good omelets.

"Isn't this nice?" Helen asks midpoint of them eating their food. "The Parkers and the Stacys are back together and are having a nice meal at Manhattan's small diner."

"Mom, you're acting like we're former band members," Lynn laughs, taking a bite of her salad after saying that.

"Well, at least Helen and I have the looks for a former high school band," May points out. "No offense, George, but look like a tired version of my uncle!"

George shook his head in amusement. "I like it better when they were three guys in our little group," he whispers to Peter, even though the other females sitting at the table can hear him perfectly clear. "Now we're completely outnumbered!"

Peter laughs. Helen's right, this _is_ so nice. He hadn't realized how much he missed the Stacys until Helen called.

Everything felt alright.

The TV near their table suddenly bursts to life, showing off the latest news coverage in New York. The title read: _Body Snatcher strikes again!_

 _"Tragedy strikes New York City once again when Samantha Williams, a tennis protege, becomes the Body Snatcher's fifth victim of the murderer's massive killing spree of athletic bodybuilders,"_ Christine Everhart begins, a picture of an African-American woman next to her. _"Like many of the other victims of the Body Snatcher, Ms. Williams was found with multiple broken bones that were left untreated, which resulted in her unfortunate death."_

"Oh, by the way, dad," Lynn begins after taking her eyes off the screen. "How's the case with the Body Snatcher going?"

"Nowhere close to the point where I would feel comfortable," George sighs. "We still don't have any leads on who the Body Snatcher is, where he would keep his victims, or how he's able to get these all these people. I mean, most of them know advanced forms of self-defense and somehow this guy manages to break every single bone in their body."

"Why don't you ask Spider-Man to help?"

The moment that word reach their ears Peter and May froze in mid-bite, their eyes widening. Both of their wide eyes shared a silent message to each other that only they could understand.

Lynn, the ever-so-observant, didn't notice their expressions - thankfully - and continues talking. "I mean if the Body Snatcher is really powerful as you said he is, maybe Spider-Man is the perfect counterbalance for him."

"Well, how would you know if Spider-Man would even want to help?" May suddenly asks. "I mean, almost all of the victims aren't even in his territory."

Peter gives her look that says: _May, what are you doing?_

Lynn raises a thin eyebrow at the older woman. "Hailey Roberts and Stephen Richards, victims four and seven, were originally from Queens and they were kidnapped there. Since Spider-Man is usually found in Queens, I figured this would be pretty close to home for him. Why wouldn't he be willing to help out?"

"I don't understand why you seem so against the idea of Spider-Man helping out the city, May," Helen begins, looking at the other woman in concern. "I mean, don't you think the whole city would be safer from this Body Snatcher person if Spider-Man was involved?"

May just scoffs at that. "Right, let's have the mutated-human who has the ability to lift cars over his head go after the serial killer, who just so happens to be targeting these supermodels, that has the ability to break almost every bone in a person's body. Yeah, I'm sure that's going to go well."

Peter couldn't help but groan silently. May's not _really_ going to start an argument with Lynn, was she? Because Peter knows how well that would go.

"At least it's better than not trying," Lynn bites back. "Spider-Man's been saving our lives every day, making us feel safe. You really think he's going to just stand around do nothing while this serial killer roams around his neighborhood? He'll just be bad as Stark."

Peter froze. God, how could he forget that Lynn is _far_ from a Tony Stark fan?

"Tony Stark has an armor stronger than steel," May points out, her voice rising slightly. "All that Spider-Man has is this suit that I don't even know the material of. Besides, it's Spider-Man's job to take care of the low crime."

That set Lynn off.

"Low crime?!" she cries in vexation. "You call robbing banks and rape attempts 'low crime'?! Do you know how many cops were lost in cases like banks being robbed or how many people have to face PTSD from a rape aftermath?"

"Lynn, I'm not saying that Spider-Man doesn't make an impact on the people he saves," May begins, now calmer.

"Well, you implied it," Lynn shots back.

May continues as if she hasn't heard the girl. "What I'm trying to say is that what if that guy has a family? A family who loves him? A family that will definitely miss him if he were to go missing and shows up with multiple broken bones in his body."

"If Spider-Man's family were so against with his activities then why let him do it? Maybe they know they can't stop him from doing the right thing and they've learned to accept it."

Lynn had no idea how close to home her words were. May's eyes narrow in anger the moment the younger girl said that.

"Oh, like acceptance is an easy thing for all of us," she hisses. "You know something, Lynn, not all of us can accept things like you can. You say that you've learned to accept things in your life but I think you're becoming apathetic to everyone else's feelings. You don't care that what do you to other people, like how you don't seem to care how your death is going to affect your parents once you're gone!"

The entire diner became silent. May crossed a line and she knew it but she didn't care, she just kept staring at Lynn, daring her to say something else.

Fortunate for Lynn, Peter stood up and quickly puts on his coat.

"Let's get out of here, Lynn," he tells the younger girl, not meeting his aunt's disbelieving glance.

The young girl didn't say anything but she did grab her goat and follow Peter out of the diner, leaving the adults alone at the table.

Helen turns her attention to May, her eyes hard. "Are you serious, May?" she demands. "You have no idea what Lynn goes through on a daily basis, being separated from Peter practically destroyed her but she let him have time to adjust without Ben in his life because she knew he needed it. Don't you dare call her selfish because we all know that she's far from it."

May just sighs and turns to George, who's been staring at her with an unreadable expression.

"I really screwed the pooch, did I?" she asks.

George didn't say anything but only nodded in agreement.

* * *

The two decided not to stray far from the _Galaxy_ _Diner_ because they are a lot of shady people in New York so they walked around in circles from W 46th St, 10th Avenue, to W 45th St and over again. It's the only way for the two of them from not distancing themselves from their families but also give them enough to space to be alone for a while.

"You really set her off," Peter comments suddenly after their fifth time circling around the blocks.

Lynn shrugs. "It's not like I could help it, I'm just expressing my opinion; wherever or not it was the truth."

"Well, yeah, but you know how she's been since Uncle Ben," Peter begins. "She's been really tired and overprotective lately, which I can't blame her for because of what happened to Ben."

"Yeah, I get that," Lynn cuts in, looking down at her white Janes. "Believe me, I was really upset when that happened but what I don't understand is why she seems so against the idea of Spider-Man helping citizens. He has all this power and he's doing a great thing by using it to help people. It's way better than Stark making weapons that can fall into the wrong hands."

Peter tries not to wince at that - even though she's right in a way - and continues on speaking. "Do you remember Uncle Ben's philosophy on life?"

"Do I remember it?" Lynn laughs. "Of course I do! He always tells us if you have the power to help somebody then you should do it. You're responsible for the power that you have and it's up to you on making the best of it by helping those who don't have that power. It's _exactly_ what Spider-Man is doing!"

"But it's also the thing that got Ben killed."

Hearing that made Lynn stop, causing Peter to stop as well. Despite her best efforts to put on a blank mask, Peter could tell that she's thinking about what he'd just said and now slowly understanding May's outburst.

After a moment of silence, she turns back to face him with a smirk on her lips. "I thought I was supposed to be the one that has a way with words."

Peter smiles, slightly thankful that Lynn's back to her usual self. "I've learned so much from the master, herself." He bows down for a dramatic effect, which makes the younger laugh like to the point she sounds like a hyena.

"You-!" she gasps, trying to catch her breath. "You're so stupid!"

"Hey, you're the one hanging out with me!" Peter quickly defends himself even though he's laughing as well.

It went on like that for a couple of minutes; just them laughing at each other and enjoying the night breeze. Times like that made Peter forget about the evil in the world and just enjoy being Peter Parker instead of Spider-Man.

"She's wrong, you know," Lynn suddenly says after a while, her face solemn. "What May said about me not caring about death."

Peter furrows his eyebrows. What brought this up all of sudden?

"I know I said numerous times before that death doesn't bother me but it was because it was _my_ death we're talking about." her blue eyes met his dark orbs. "Peter, I know I'm dying and that doesn't bother me. It's a part of life that I've learned to accept."

In a way, Peter could see where she was coming from; Lynn has breast cancer. Until the scientists find a cure for it, Lynn will always be in danger of cancer returning if one of her chemotherapy successfully puts her out of real danger. So, Lynn technically _is_ dying.

"But it doesn't mean I'm not afraid of death, Pete," Lynn continues, bringing his attention back to her. "My dad is the Captain of the police force, I have to worry about one of his coworkers showing up at my house and telling me that he died from out-of-control protestors."

"Or he might get shot in an alley," Peter adds, making Lynn turn to him with an unreadable expression.

"Ben loved you," she tells him. "I really don't know what exactly happened that night but I'm a hundred percent sure he died loving you."

Peter sighs but gives her a quick smile in gratefulness. "Thanks, Lynn."

 _BUZZ_

The smile fade from Peter's face as his senses immediately went haywire. No, not her. There couldn't be any danger near here. Not with Lynn around, he couldn't let her get hurt. Where's even the danger?

Lynn took notice of his face. "What is it, Pete?"

He finally saw it. Since he's taller than Lynn by a few inches he's able to see over the head. Lo and behold, the danger was right behind her.

It was a man, taller than the two of them combined. He wore all black clothing with a hoodie on his head but Peter could still make out some of his features, like his rugged beard, tanned skin, and eyes. The eyes are what frighten Peter the most; there's no sclera in those eyes. Just pure black. Black like man-eating sharks.

Those eyes weren't human.

The man is just standing in an alleyway, the place where Lynn has her back to.

And he's _looking_ at them.

 _BUZZ_

"Lynn, let's get out of here," he whispers to her, hoping that his voice is low enough to not attract the man's attention.

Lynn looks at him in confusion before taking a quick glance over her shoulder. When she caught sight of the man she immediately whips her head back, her eyes wide with a hint of fear of them.

 _Pete?_ She mouths, unsure of what to do.

"Just walk," he says lowly, putting his arm around her shoulders and guiding her to walk, away from the strange man that's driving his senses into overdrive. "Just walk…"

Peter kept looking behind him, making sure that the man from the alley wasn't following them. He could take him but that would make Lynn wonder how he would be able to defeat a nearly six-foot man.

So he just kept walking with his arm around Lynn, looking over his shoulder a few times.

The man wasn't there.

It didn't make Peter feel any better, though.

It was when they got back to the crowded streets that Peter relaxed.

* * *

He saw the two children about to walk by the alley before they suddenly stopped right in front of it, thus, gave him the perfect view of the two.

He observed them from the dark, trying to see if one of them was the one that he needed.

After observing the girl he nearly recoiled in disgust. That girl has tumors. Too many cells growing around her breast. He's well-aware of this disease and while he could prevent it from killing her for a while, he didn't want a dying body. He wanted a body that's _alive_.

He turns his attention to the boy.

To his surprise, he could hear the boy's heartbeat. Normally an average human's heart is so low that he couldn't hear it most of the time. Those who were healthier than average have heartbeats that were still low but loud enough for him to hear for a few miles.

But this boy, he's hearing the kid's heartbeat like he's actually talking to him with it despite if he was a hundred yards away from him.

The only time he's heard a heartbeat like that was when Spider-Man was swinging by and he could hear it beat full blast.

But then that boy noticed him and the two quickly walked away before he could do anything about it.

Oh well, he'll find that boy another time. For now, he will focus on that Spider-Man character.

* * *

 **Does anyone want to take a guess who's POV that was?**


End file.
